witwww??

I just found this post saved away in my list of potential posts. Got some random internet fun for ya!

Pride and prejudice filming locations

I really wish I had seen this site before we went to England last year. :-( I've put them on my must-see places for next time.

City scapes

This is San Francisco made out of cookware! More at this site.

Pandora.com is an amazing invention! Zach's sister Autumn introduced it to me and it's wonderful! Log on to this free site and you can create your own streaming radio station by using an artist or a song you like and it'll tailor-make a channel based on that song or artist. It's a great way to find new music or listen to songs you don't have on your iTunes. Even better, it's a free application for your iPhone... so I can listen to my stations or make new ones on my phone. I can even plug in my phone to my car and listen to Pandora! Zach and I love to listen on long trips. Check it out!

I saved the very best for last. You have probably seen the baby got back wedding dance, but this one is even better, I think! Absolutely adorable. It's like 6 minutes long, but stick it out the first minute and then it gets really good. Whatcha think?

Evolution Of The Wedding Dance - Watch more Funny Videos

Pierre the lolcat

moar funny pictures

Honestly, Abby

This post has been taking me a long time to finish! I've been nominated by my friend Katie to receive the Honest Scrap blogger award! Basically, I have to tell you "10 honest things about me that you possibly do not know." A lot of you know me very well, so we'll see how this goes. Check the end of the post to see if I tagged you for the award too!

1. I wish I'd given campus tours at A&M. Maybe it's because I'm a tradition freak and I love to know and share trivia, but this is one regret I have from my college years. I think it would have been fun to walk backwards, telling potential Aggies all about the school I love. I also wish I'd written for the Battalion school newspaper.

2. I was a voracious reader as a child. Before the 8th grade, I read every book in my mom's library and my own bookshelves at least once. Sometimes more than that. And many of the (grown-up)fictional books at the church library. My brother David thinks I read faster than anyone he knows. I don't know about that, but I do read pretty fast! I still love to read, even more now that I have time after college. I've always been the kid completely content with a book and even today, if I have a book, I'm not bored. Also tied to this-- I've read several horse magazines consistently every month since age 8. Thanks Mom!

3.  I have a very real fear of becoming a cat lady someday. I have always had cats with great personalities, and right now I've got two that are like people. I talk to them like they are human all the time, just like my other cats in the past. They're like my 2 roommates. I didn't even notice this was out of the ordinary until friends pointed it out! For now, it's all ok, but I do fear becoming that single elderly lady with a lot of cats and no other friends.

4. Frizzy hair is my mortal enemy. I've finally made peace with my long, very curly hair, but I've spent more than a decade battling the dreaded FRIZZ. Curly girls know it's the downside to what many people think are beautiful curls. Through trial and lots of error, I think I finally have it figured out, but nothing makes my day worse than ending up with frizz before i have to go out the door. That's when it all goes into a bun. Take that!

5. I would love to visit Israel again and stay for a while. I don't have a scanner, or I'd post my favorite pic from Israel. Just picture me on a camel on the Mount of Olives. This is also a pic of Jerusalem. Visiting Israel in 2004 was life-changing for me, and it sparked a passion to travel internationally. My grandma and I spent 15 days touring this amazing country and I really want to go back. I know things are dangerous there right now, but I do hope to visit again.

6.  I took piano lessons for 12 years and have a piano in my apartment. Katie and I both took piano lessons at one time from Mrs. MacReynolds. I tried a lot of things as a young girl: ballet, gymnastics, etc. I finally narrowed down the classes I most enjoyed to horsebackriding and pianos. After graduating high school, I quit taking piano and (obviously ;-)) kept up riding. I played piano off and on for fun throughout college and after moving to Fort Worth, my grandma gave me the piano from her house. Yay! I don't know many people my age who have an upright piano in their 2nd floor apartment--aside from actual musicians and piano teachers. I'm so blessed to have it. I don't play enough and I don't play all that well, but I enjoy playing for myself and I know enough theory to learn songs I think are pretty. 

7. I have never broken a bone. Knock on wood, but I've never worn a cast or walked using crutches. I'm past the age where it was a badge of honor, so hopefully I can keep up my record.

8. I'm distantly related to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Referring back to #2, I read the entire Little House series literally at least 12 times growing up. When my Papa Wilder told me as a child that Almanzo Wilder was in our family tree, I was so excited. My hero was in my family! I wanted to BE Laura Ingalls. I had the high top boots and all I wanted was a gingham pinafore and a bonnet. I did my hair in braids and I watched the TV show religiously. Hey, it was educational!

9. I was homeschooled all the way from kindergarten to high school graduation. A lot of you probably know this, and if you didn't well, my bonnet photo probably gave that one away. :-) My mom started Drills, Skills & More when I was really young and we traveled to homeschooling bookfairs selling her products all over the country every summer during that time. Because I was homeschooled, I was able to ride my horse with my trainer and compete more. I really think this helped me get on the Equestrian team at A&M. I had tons of friends, was really active in my church youth group, went to two proms and graduated with a group. I didn't have any academic or social adjustment issues in college and had a great time... eventually getting a good job right out of school. :-) There, I think I answered all the FAQ. :-) It's definitely not for everyone and at times I did wish I had gone to school, but once I got to A&M I didn't mind at all. A fellow homeschooler Stephanie was actually my first roommate at A&M and she did well too! 

10. I was a lifeguard and swim instructor for two years and I can't swim freestyle to save my life. It wasn't my idea to become a lifeguard. I'd intended to work the snack bar at the tennis club. But they needed lifeguards, so I signed up to get certified. I barely. Barely passed the swimming part. I can swim like a frog awesome, and breaststroke--I'm on it. Freestyle is the death of me. But I passed everything else with flying colors. Then my future boss required all of us lifeguards to get swim instructor certified. MORE swimming laps and that class was much harder! I eventually passed that too, but I really can't get the hang of freestyle. Or butterfly(as the michael phelps photo shows) for that matter. Sigh. Maybe it'll be like running and I'll eventually figure it out. :-)

This was really hard but fun! I tag Jashley, Alisha, Faith and Megan. I'm interested to see what y'all have to say!

Falling in love with Fall!

The past 2 weekends have been so much fun. I got to have friends come and stay with me! That doesn't happen too often, so I was really excited. I've got some photos to share--offf course. :-)

First though, I wanted to show y'all Alfred's latest Pierre-proof spot--the top of the refrigerator. I walked in the house to see him perched atop one of the higher spots in my house. Pierre's maximum altitude is the coffee table.

Alicia hung out with me weekend before last, and we had a great time. We played the piano, watched Northanger Abbey, ran errands, went to see Willy and played with the cats.

The highlight of the weekend was getting to see Michelle Branch at the State Fair of Texas. If you have known me for any length of time, especially the high school days, you know that Michelle is one of my top 5 favorite artists, and I wore out her cds. I'm pretty sure i've listened to the Spirit Room more than any other cd I own, know all the words to all the songs and her music has gotten me through all of life's romantic highs and lows. Zach and I saw her last year at Billy Bob's with her duet partner in the Wreckers, but I was sadly disappointed that she didn't play even one of her solo songs. 

This was NOT the case at the State Fair. Lucky for us, she delivered a solo acoustic concert of all her older hits and some new ones coming soon. I loved her updated versions of my favorites, and I was so happy that she played almost all the songs I love the most! I'm so glad Alicia and I got to go!

This past weekend, my friends Faith and Damon came to visit.(sorry! I think I'm done with the blog links already!) These talented graphic artists both like to take photos, and so we spent some time checking out what Dallas and Fort Worth had to offer in the way of architecture. 

Here's Faith and Damon taking photos of the skyline. I'll do some PS work, Faith, to get ride of those powerlines... :-) I just wanted to show you!

Shooting in the evening/night made me really want to get a tripod. There were so many shots I would have liked to have taken, but I made do with leaning against things. Here's my Dallas skyline pic.

Zach was keeping watch over my car, but the light was perfect for a silhouette. He was in his suit for work, not to model for me this time. ;-)

After dinner at El Fenix, we went over to Victory Park. I was surprised at how well this photo came out sans tripod!

The next day, Zach and I  went to Six Flags Over Texas theme park with Faith and Damon--thanks to their season pass coupons! But first, Pierre got some more love. What a chunk he is! Also, I have to tell y'all that my piano definitely got a lot of use because Faith is an amazing pianist. :-)

I'm a big chicken, but I braved all the rides yet again. Faith has always been able to get me to ride scary coasters, ever since I was little!

After our hard-hitting theme park trip, the four of us tucked into burgers at Al's burger joint in arlington. I didn't bring my camera into the park--good thing--so here is the proof of our excursion. :-)

Here are Faith and Damon. Aren't they just precious? ;-P

We ended our fun day with a double feature of rented scary movies. yikes!

That's all I've got for now folks! This weekend should be super fun, so I'm sure I'll have more photos in the next few days! Hope you have a happy Halloween!

WITWWW?

I found some great stuff online this week! Check it out!

Robocat

This is adorable. I wonder what lil' Alfred and Pierre would do with that robot. Thanks for the link Faith!

Holocaust love story

My friend Megan sent this to me. I think it is a really sweet story!

Costume ideas

There are some really great ideas on that site! One example: 

Chia pet: Wrap yourself in duct tape so that the sticky part is facing out, then roll around on the lawn.

Sad Guys on Trading Floor blog

So sad, yet so funny. I borrowed the photos and the captions from this blog-- check it out for yourself!

Oh my! I knew that Jim was going to propose to Pam eventually but at that gas station... in the rain? SWOON!

I'm no financial genius, but I'm guessing that the stock market is run by various sizes and colors of men with 60s-era phones attached to their ears.

*faint*

YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

Oh. My. God. Do you see what Philip is wearing today? It's a financial crisis, honey, not a fashion catastrophe.

Yeah, so I told the salesguy that I only really needed one TV but he was all like, "Why stop there?" So one thing led to another and... yeah... here's my wall 'o TVs.

Thank you for tuning in to What In The World Wide Web. :-) See ya next time!

More what in the world wide web

I've intended to write just about every day since last week. I have photos of Pisa and Florence set in a post, but it would take a while to write the text so I guess you could say I was putting it off. ANDD I've been in Louisiana for work since Sunday. We are doing a state spotlight, so along with two of my colleagues, we've been traveling around Louisiana taking photos of Paint horses and their owners. I have taken thousands of photos, but I'll wait to write more about that when I get back on Friday. We've eaten at a Cajun honky tonk, taken photos of a Paint horse in the French Quarter and walked around Bourbon Street at night too(without the horse at night!) in New Orleans, played with alligators, ate at Cafe Du Monde and put Mardi Gras beads on a Paint at the oldest plantation in the mississippi valley, just to name a few things!

I do have a bunch of things I found in the last week that I thought you might like. Check it out!

the LOL car

I'm in love with this little doo hickey. What a happy little car!

Josh Groban at the Emmys

Now, I know the Emmy's were last week, but this is interesting! It makes me love Josh Groban all the more!

Cats at the Roxbury

I can't post the video, but you definitely need to click the link. The cats are so cute!

Myxertones.com

My brother David showed me this Web site. You can find all kinds of ringtones for FREE. And you can get them sent to your iPhone, for those of you cool enough to have those. ;-) I just discovered a customizing feature where you can choose EXACTLY the part of the song you want! Score!! Check out my latest ringtone... I'm currently obsessed with Taylor Swifts "Love Story" song and music video.

More from JoeBrosGrl at Myxer

Taylor Swift's new music video

Ok, so this isn't all that special. But I just love this new music video by Taylor Swift. I have been thinking about redecorating recently, and this is one of those things I would file under inspiration. I want romantic, italian/french style... Anyways, enjoy the video!

What in the world wide web?

I spend a lot of time on the internet. Whether it's for work or for play, I am always amazed at what can be found online. Rather than only sharing my finds with one or two people and then forgetting about them almost immediately, I figured I could post on my blog! I hope you think these things are as funny as I do! Now, for your enjoyment I present:

Heelarious

How funny are these little soft high heels? They're for babies before they can walk. Love them!

Alicia showed me this blog about the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. It keeps up with the actors and their careers, and has all kinds of must-have trivia for P&P fans like myself. I don't know if I've ever talked about it, but Pride and Prejudice is my absolute favorite movie ever. The end. Most of you who know me already know this and may even share my passion!

Any talk about the innernetz HAS to include LOLcats. Nuff said. The following photo is my very own Pierre.

Now for some youtube magic. 

Ninja cat. Please watch all the way through.

This guy is an amazing singer. Stick around till at least the 1 minute mark. It's definitely not something you see every day.

Here he is singing a Leona Lewis song. Normally I would be incensed that anyone would try to top her... but this is a GUY. Check it out!

Remember how I said I liked Pride and Prejudice? Well, I also love ALL Jane Austen books/movies. So, thanks to Alicia again, I present to my fellow Jane Austenites a smorgasbord of awesome. It's a music video  of the leading men from such classics as P&P, Sense & Sensability, Emma and others.... set to "Ain't No Other Man." Tell me what you think!

That's all for now! I'll have more for you in the future! Let me know what ya think!

Of Willy, girlfriends and life

I've been wanting to post for a few days! I have several drafts with the pictures uploaded, but I still have to write the words. I figured I could catch up on what's been going on this week here!

I took this photo last week of Alfred. I thought it was pretty cool! I haven't done any photoshop treatment to it yet. Do any of you have any suggestions?
Last weekend, Zach and I went to a wedding and a baby shower for some of his friends in the midst of Mr. Ike. We only got constant rain, but we did a lot of driving around in it! This photo is from the wedding reception. I thought it was a really neat way to decorate.Later that night we went to the baby shower. I should note that the shower was NOT for the same couple as the wedding! It was at a Mexican restaurant. I don't think I've ever been to a co-ed shower with drinking games... One of the games was a chugging contest between all the guys... chugging margaritas out of baby bottles! Here I am pretending to drink the rest of Zach's bottle. :-)Last Sunday was Zach's dad Dean's birthday. We had a little party for him and I got him a card that made dog sniffing noises when you open it. We showed it to Gideon and he was enthralled, as you can see.This past week has been so great because I've gotten to spend time with some really good friends. I miss being in college because we don't have the luxury of random all-night hangouts and just the free time to build good friendships. So when I get the chance to spend a few hours with someone, it just really makes my day. And this has been a great week for that! 

Sunday I got to meet up with my friend Calle in Tyler. We were on the Equestrian team at A&M and I really haven't seen her since she graduated probably 2.5 years ago. That is just sad! She's a great friend. She lives in Montana and came to Texas for a wedding in College Station. We caught up with some margaritas and guacamole at On the Border. YUM!

Also this week, I got to hang out with my friend Alicia. I met her through Jashley, and it's one of those things where you are just amazed that you have so much in common with someone. It might sound nerdy, but I feel like it's kind of like going on a really good date or something. :-) I'm looking forward to hanging with her a lot more in the future.

Finally, last night I got to meet up with another friend who I just love hanging out with because we have alot in common as well. I met miss Katie through Stephanie--I think I'm done linking to other blogs in this post--I do apologize! But Katie and I go wayy back. We had a great time at this place called the Dream Cafe. Yum yum! You should try it sometime. I had the best Sangria I've ever had there.

The other night Zach and I cooked dinner. You never know what you are going to get when it's been a while since your last trip to the grocery store. We made crepes with tarragon chicken, parmesan cheese and chopped black olives. Zach decided to put Nutella and some peas on his... he insisted that it tasted good...
I took this photo at the barn with my little camera. There are probably about 15 or more peacocks and peahens at Rocky Top, and they roost in these two dead trees at night. It's kind of creepy actually. If any of you are wishing to own a peacock, keep in mind that they like to call out and they kind of sound like a woman shrieking. Not too fun!

So not for an update on Willy. You can skip this if you aren't interested in horse care or founder. I won't tell anyone. :-) Last time I talked about him, I mentioned that he had rubber  "lily pads" on his feet. I couldn't find a photo of them online anywhere. He got them taken off yesterday, so I got to take a photo of them.We wrapped his feet with Elastikon to hold the lily pads in place. The first week Willy was lame, he had nothing special on his feet because I didn't know what was wrong with him and I'd hoped it was a stone bruise or soreness from his new shoes. The vet came out, said he might be foundering but wasn't sure so he didn't take off his shoes. He gave him DMSO by tube to his stomach--which stinks to high heaven, and we gave him 2ccs of Bute every day. After that weekend, the vet came out, saw that he wasn't better and pulled his shoes off and gave him DMSO again. He put those lily pads on with Elastikon and duct tape. I continued to give him Bute and iced his feet for the first few days. It didn't work very well. Willy got into some mud so his bandages disintegrated in less than a week. We took them off, thinking he might be OK last week and he ended up relapsing, becoming very lame again. So another vet from the same practice came out, said he was still foundering and wrapped him up like this--no duct tape--for 3 days to see if his hoof bones and laminae would stabilize. He also gave him DMSO again.

Hurricane Ike came along that weekend, so I had to keep Willy in a stall confined to help his feet stay dry. I gave him Ace every day. His feet didn't stabilize until this week. Yesterday, the vet came out and was very happy with Willy's condition. He said we could take the lily pads off and start the special shoeing treatment. YAY!! He's on the road to recovery!

Sorry for the blurry photos here. The farrier took a netting of fiberglass and laid it in between Willy's hooves and the shoes. 

Next, he attached a foam square to the foot so he can form the special rubberlike pads.He squirted in this mixture that molds to the horse's sole to offer custom support while encouraging the sole to grow thicker and stronger--this is key to helping the horse recover from laminitis(founder). It also has some elements of copper to keep the horse from developing thrush.

This is what the shoe looks like. He'll be wearing this for at least 2-3 more shoeings. Horses get shod every 6 weeks, so we're looking at 12-16 weeks before he's done with this treatment. The good news is I might be able to ride him after the next shoeing in 5 weeks! What do you think of Willy's tennis shoes?